Genealogy Chat

In my Family Tree Maker which i think is last years. There is Date Born and in, (meaning which place). Is there anyway that when you do not know the proper date i.g. December Quarter 1975 that you can put these in the Date box. at the moment i am having to put just the year in the date box.....ie 1875 and in the 'In' box.......September Quarter. and area. Surely there must be some way to do this.......any ideas please. Kal xxxxxxxx

I use Abt (About) So if I have a GRO reference for Apr - Jun 1878. my method is to put Abt Jun 1877 You can also use Bef (Before) or Aft, After ie if someone died after the 1881 census but before 1891, you could put Bef 1891 or you Aft 1881. Finaly, you can add a range. For Example 1881-1882

Hi peter, I was hoping i could put in Date Box - December Quarter 1875 and the In box - In wherever. You would think it could be more flexible. Kal xxxxxx

*sneaks in and takes notes from Peter* Thank you Peter for those tips; I have the same problem as Kal! And thank you Kal, for putting the thread up! :-)

Kal, when I have this problem I usually put c1860 etc and then in the source box put the GRO details. Pauline

I use 'Abt.' before the year, and then I click on 'edit' for the person and go into 'notes' and write the full GRO reference in there, so I don't have to look it up again if I haven't bought the certificate. Kath. x

I put the likely months -- eg Jul-Sep 1875. I do realise that this could be inaccurate because of late registrations, but since I know my convention, it works for me. Jim

You can enter anything you like as the date and FTM will record what you enter. The only problem is that if you ever export the file to gedcom the date format you enter will be exported but if someone else tries to import it into any other program (including FTM) the date will be ignored as it's not standard gedcom format. The proper gedcom format is Abt. this will be recognised by any other program during import where as if you put in something like Circa or C, 1800/01 this will not be recognised. Carol www*geneaolgyprinters*com

Many many thanks for the input folks. Carol i am glad you told me as i am doing some research for my brother in law and he wants a tree printed out when i have finished, through your genealogy printers, lol So it looks as if i shall have to leave it as it is, Kal xxxxxxxx

My advice is to set up a notation which fits the type of information you are collecting, and stick to it. There is no single answer, it is what suits you the best. I use the folllowing For Dates i the actual date, where known ii Abt Mar 1875 where I have the GRO ref, but no certificate to confirm the actual date iii abt 1874 when I have no better information iv Aft 1881 when Ithis is the last known piece of info Where I have GRO details, these are put in the notes Births Sep 1875 GOLDTHORPE Fred Huddersfield 9a 286 For census records I use two Facts. Occupation and Census Address e.g. Occupation 1871 Wool Carder Census Address 1871 Wood Royd, Honley Yorks